Down With Love

Updated : Apr 22, 2009

A professor dubbed "the love guru" who promised more freedom for lovers if elected to parliament was Tuesday barred from contesting India's ongoing elections, officials said.

Matuk Nath Choudhary, who was in the race in the Bihar state capital of Patna with 33 others, was disqualified because of irregularities in his nomination papers, poll administrator J.K. Sinha told AFP.

Sinha said signatures of the man who confirmed the 55-year-old Choudhary's identity in line with electoral rules did not match.

"So he's out of the race," Sinha added. Choudhary, a father of one, was not available for comment.

The professor had campaigned on the unusual platform of more freedom for unwed lovers and standing up to vigilante groups who oppose public displays of affection.

Parts of lawless Bihar, India's second most populous state, go to the polls Thursday but elections in Patna will be held May 7.

India's public parks have become a battleground between lovers and the self-styled Hindu extremist "moral police" who have beaten up and publicly humiliated couples for sitting together or holding hands.